L-R: Mayor John Hollerich acknowledged Jerry Etherington’s 12 years of service as a council member with a certificate of appreciation at the Dec. 18, 2018, council meeting.

By Heather LoweMessenger Staff Writer

The City of Mapleton has lost a legend of sorts. After 12 years as city council member, Jerry Etherington’s last council meeting was held on Dec. 18, 2018. It had a bittersweet tone with audience members knowing the November race was so close—just one vote. But, in classic Etherington-style, he was lightening the mood all the way to the end. Despite his characteristic quips and jabs, he was eagle-eyed on the bottom line. Often, he was the lone vote against spending measures he felt were frivolous. He did often say that you will never make everyone happy. Maybe that is the lesson for incoming council, vote how you feel is best as you will never make everyone happy.Mayor John Hollerich sent Jerry off with a certificate of appreciation.Med Compass unfortunately may have violated HIPPA when publicly disclosing two firefighters’ medical information. It would have seemed more likely a mistake if it was an isolated incident. The fire chief had all firefighters involved write up an incident report. The city council approved the city attorney to send a letter to Med Compass notifying them of their concerns.In other business:• There was discussion on whether or not the Veteran’s Memorial Park at the north entrance to Mapleton needed snow removal on the sidewalks and parking lot. It was decided to wait until the monuments are installed and the park is fully completed to clear snow next year.• The final draw request for the water tower was approved and by all accounts that project was done to the city’s satisfaction.• Lastly, it was noted that Mapleton’s regular council meetings will be Jan. 8, and Jan. 22, 2019 due to holiday conflicts.Most in attendance stayed for the annual elected officials training immediately following the regular council meeting. Meeting adjourned at 6:12 p.m.

The fire department is right about their concerns here. There are a lot of obstacles that can hinder firemen to do their jobs. I think that the local government and the people of the community should understand that. Instead of just pointless chit chat and bothersome debates, we should act on improving our jobs. We should help support our firemen so that they can do their jobs better. Everything that they do is to ensure the safety of our community.